DYING FETUS started their European Tour Fall 2024 in Cologne, bringing along three supporting acts: VITRIOL, DESPISED ICON, and CHELSEA GRIN.
I’ll admit, my main reason for attending was DESPISED ICON – purely for a nostalgic throwback to my youth, as I’d never seen them live before. Having last seen DYING FETUS at OEF 2024, I knew what to expect from them. As for the other two bands, I decided not to listen to them beforehand, preferring to be surprised by their live performance, which is always the best way to discover new music.
Despite the snow from the past couple of days, rain took over that evening, making things far from smooth sailing. The first band was scheduled for 6:30 PM, but by 6:00, a sizable crowd had already gathered at the entrance. Unlike most gigs where I spot mainly “gray heads,” this time, there was an influx of younger fans – likely drawn in by the newer bands. But that’s just my theory, and I’m sticking to it.
The opening acts
VITRIOL was first to hit the stage – a duo featuring guitar and drums, complemented by sample intros for some songs.
Their mix of doom and death metal was overshadowed by a terrible sound mix. The double bass drum overwhelmed the guitar and vocals, a fact painfully evident even to the guitarist, who oddly asked for more drums after 20 minutes. Their 30-minute set left little impression, with the final track – a slow, vocal-less, seemingly improvised outro – making the whole performance feel like an afterthought.
A special circle of hell is reserved for bands that take almost half an hour to set up. Seriously, what were you doing all day? Sure, maybe you think you’re a rock star, but you’ve got 30 minutes to play – so instead of getting your gear ready quickly and playing as much as possible, you’re fussing over the stage like you’re about to lounge on it all night. Honestly, all that was missing was a vacuum cleaner, just in case. Why do I love grindcore concerts and festivals? Because, man, one band gets off the stage, the next one climbs up, and chaos begins within minutes. Whether it’s a duo or a six-piece band, it’s always the same.
DESPISED ICON started slow and, frankly, dull. With six members on stage, you’d expect chaos, but their energy was underwhelming – more Eurovision than deathcore devastation. I was about to step outside to skip the rest of their set when they finally found their groove. The latter half of their performance salvaged what started as a snooze-fest, delivering a satisfying, albeit brief, conclusion. Having stopped following the band after “The Ills Of Modern Man,” I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality, which was finally on point. It seemed someone competent had taken over the mixing console.
Next came CHELSEA GRIN, a band I hadn’t heard of before.
Their performance was, without exaggeration, one of the dullest live shows I’ve ever endured. It felt like they played the same song on repeat for 45 minutes. Even the crowd grew bored, mock-yawning and ironically singing along. The peak of their set was when the vocalist called for a wall of death, only for the audience to ignore him almost completely.
The post-performance playlist featuring A-HA, BON JOVI, and VILLAGE PEOPLE provided more entertainment than their entire set. DYING FETUS’s choice to bring them along as support seemed like a total misfire.
The headliner: DYING FETUS
By the time DYING FETUS took the stage, the venue was packed to the brim, with barely any room to move. It was clear everyone was there for one band: DYING FETUS, the death metal machine that’s been crushing us for over 30 years. In my not-so-humble opinion, this show surpassed their performance at OEF 2024.
John Gallagher, Sean Beasley, and Trey Williams delivered an unrelenting set that shook the venue to its foundations. From “From Womb to Waste” and “Weaken the Structure” to “In the Trenches,” the new “Devout Atrocity,” and “Wrong One to Fuck With,” the crowd responded with equal intensity, nearly setting the place on fire. Perhaps the fresh energy came from this being the tour opener, with the band well-rested and ready to demolish everything in their path. Whatever the reason, DYING FETUS gave more in their one-hour set than all three previous bands combined.
While the opening acts struggled to leave a mark, DYING FETUS once again proved why they’re still a cornerstone in the death metal scene. This was a declaration of supremacy from one of the genre’s most enduring bands. For those lucky enough to catch them on this tour, prepare to be obliterated.
